Aircraft Carrier Admiral Kuznetsov: News #1

And a nice vid of the deployment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y782REQXw2I

I guess thinking about it... the plane is new and the land based carrier training facilities in Russia are both new... they will likely train and create operational manuals and develop tactics for the new Migs before deploying them operationally. not to mention they will build up stocks of new weapons and equipment...

TR1 wrote:And a nice vid of the deployment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y782REQXw2I

Very nice vid!!!  
when will it arrive in syria?
When will it leave?

Any idea when the planned modernization is beginning?

BTW does anyone know how many SU-33 are on board?
I would guess 12 to 18

Russia's aircraft carrier is heading to eastern Mediterranean Sea
13:39 January 23, 2014 Interfax
The Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier has left its anchorage in the western part of the Mediterranean Sea and is heading eastwards, Russia's Northern Fleet information department chief Capt. 1st rank Vadim Serga told Interfax-AVN.
"The aircraft carrier replenished its stores from auxiliary vessels of the naval unit and carried out planned maintenance works of the ship's mechanisms and equipment during the anchorage. Yesterday the ship's Ka-27 helicopters made 12 flights and stayed in air for eight hours in total," Serga said.

Infographics: Russian navy ships in the Mediterranean
The Admiral Kuznetsov is preparing for flights of on-deck jet fighters that will start as soon as weather conditions are favorable, he said.
The Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier of the Russian Northern Fleet left its base in Severomorsk on December 17. It heads the naval unit consisting of the Admiral Levchenko destroyer, the Olenegorsky Gornyak landing ship and auxiliary vessels. The naval unit covered over 3,700 nautical miles during the voyage.
The Admiral Kuznetsov is Russia's aircraft carrier. It can carry Sukhoi Su-33 on-deck multirole jet fighters, Ka-27, Ka-28, Ka-29 and Ka-32 helicopters.
Two landing ships join Russian Navy unit in Mediterranean
Two large landing ships, the Azov of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and the Georgy Pobedonosets of the North Fleet, have passed through the Strait of Dardanelles and joined the Russian permanent naval unit deployed in the Mediterranean, a military diplomat told Interfax-AVN on Monday. Read more>>>

MOSCOW, January 24 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian carrier group that entered the Mediterranean earlier this month has begun a series of naval aviation exercises, a navy spokesman said Friday.
“The naval aviators are conducting training in dogfighting, high-speed interception and improving their skills in flying intricate aerobatic maneuvers,” Captain of the 1st Class Vadim Serga said.
Russia formed a permanent naval task force in the Mediterranean last year to defend its interests in the region. The move was widely seen as a response to calls for international intervention in the worsening civil war in Syria, Russia’s longtime ally.
The group of ships, led by Russia’s sole aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, is currently located in waters near Spain’s Balearic Islands.

© RIA Novosti.
Admiral Kuznetsov. INFOgraphics.
In August, Russian media quoted a military source saying a group of Russian warships on a long-distance cruise would soon call at the country’s only Mediterranean naval facility in the Syrian port city of Tartus.
The Admiral Kuznetsov led another group of ships to that facility two years ago.
Serga said that over 20 training flights by the ship’s Su-33 Flanker-D fighter jets were planned.
The group, dispatched by Russia’s Northern Fleet, was escorted by a British destroyer as it approached Scotland last month.

North Fleet pilots practicing in Mediterranean
14:00 February 4, 2014 Interfax
Seaborne aircraft crews have improved their skills in training flights performed from the deck of the North Fleet heavy aircraft carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov, North Fleet spokesman Capt. 1st Class Vadim Serga told Interfax-AVN on Tuesday.

Infographics: Russian navy ships in the Mediterranean
"Crews of the wing had another practice yesterday to upgrade their piloting, navigation and tactical skills and airborne target destruction techniques. The flights were performed by pilots of seaborne fighter jets and helicopters while the unit led by the aircraft carrying cruiser was moving from central Mediterranean to an area south of Crete," Serga said.
Seaborne aircraft pilots stationed aboard the Admiral Kuznetsov were put on combat duty lately, Serga said. They are responsible for air defense of the Russian naval unit deployed in the Mediterranean. Some of the seaborne fighter jets Sukhoi Su-33 are fully armed and on immediate standby.
In all, North Fleet pilots have made over 110 flights with the total duration of about 80 hours during the long-distance voyage of the naval unit, Serga said.

I saw there wasnt a big thread about this awesome ship so i'll make it.

From now on all the news about the Kuznetsov can be posted here we can have great discussions about the ship and of course the upcoming refit too!

Some cool vids about the kuznetsov.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HRpmhWbsgqA

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zv-WCG7ohyw

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aIb-9Svyk9k

Russia's heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov has accomplished its mission within the Russian naval force in the Mediterranean and has headed for northeastern areas of the Atlantic Ocean, North Fleet spokesman Capt. 1st Rank Vadim Serga said.

"The cruiser has accomplished its mission within the Navy task force in the Mediterranean and headed for Severomorsk. The aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov is expected to return to base by late May," Serga said, Interfax reports.
He said that the cruiser entered the Mediterranean Sea on January 15.
During its stay in the Mediterranean, pilots of the aircraft deployed aboard the carrier mastered their skills in regular flights of ship-based planes and helicopters.
In all, over 350 flights were performed from the carrier's deck with the total duration exceeding 280 hours, Serga said.
The Admiral Kuznetsov crew also had joint exercises with other ships of the Russian naval force, among them missile and artillery shooting from the Kinzhal air defense missile system and the AK-630 artillery system jointly with the North Fleet destroyer Admiral Levchenko.
In the course of its long-distance voyage the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov twice visited the port of Limassol in the Republic of Cyprus.
The Admiral Kuznetsov departed on the long-distance voyage from the North Fleet main base, Severomorsk, on December 17, 2013.


http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_04_18/Aircraft-carrier-Admiral-Kuznetsov-ends-Mediterranean-mission-leaves-for-Atlantic-Ocean-1255/

Nice thread Flying Dutchman... my vote on that second post with the vids... good work bringing these to our attention.

I am looking forward to a time when K can have a proper upgrade and sail with a complete air wing of MiGs.

Even if it has reportedly ended its mission and headed for Severomorsk, Russia’s aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov is still sailing in the Mediterranean Sea.

Its position can be determined based on the NOTAMs (Notice To Airmen) issued for the Algiers FIR (Flight Information Region).

Two of them provide details about the area of operation of the aircraft operating from the carrier:

A0962/14 – AIRSPACE RESERVATION FOR RUSSIAN NAVY WILL TAKE PLACE PLAN FLTS FM ACFT CARRIER AVIATION WI AREA BRAVO (B): 3900N 00500E 3900N 00700E 3740N 00700E 3720N 00500E 3900N 00500E. SFC – FL180, APR 23 24 25 AND 26 HR:0800-1700, 23 APR 08:00 2014 UNTIL 26 APR 17:00 2014. CREATED: 21 APR 09:54 2014

A0961/14 – AIRSPACE RESERVATION FOR RUSSIAN NAVY WILL TAKE PLACE PLAN FLTS FM ACFT CARRIER AVIATION WI AREA ALPHA (A): 3745N 00220E 3825N 00400E 3720N 00400E 3700N 00210E 3745N 00220E. SFC – FL160, APR 24 25 AND 26 HR:0800-1700, 24 APR 08:00 2014 UNTIL 26 APR 17:00 2014. CREATED: 21 APR 09:47 2014

(image)

Image above shows the waypoints of Area B put on a map using Skyvector.

While such warnings are often issued for (U.S.) aircraft carriers hence they are not really special, what is worth noticing is that the flying activity of the Russians in the Mediterranean Sea is watched closely by NATO E-3 planes.

Indeed, it seems that NATO AEW (Airborne Early Warning) planes have frequently operated in the Southeastern Mediterranean in the last few days, while Admiral Kuznetsov transited south of Malta towards the waters off Algeria, between Sardinia and the Balearic islands.

Most probably, the E-3s are not only observing the Sukhoi Su-33 Flanker-D all-weather carrier-based air defence fighters but also performing routine electronic surveillance by means of onboard electronic support measures (ESM).

H/T Roberto Petagna for sending us the relevant NOTAMs

Image credit: Russian Navy


http://theaviationist.com/2014/04/24/kuznetsov-nato-monitor/

Nice...

they will also likely be trying to collect ESM data from all the sensors and equipment on the K and her support vessels. Likely also any Ka-31 AEW aircraft that might be present...

About the K refit: will they upgrade the inside? Like the bridge and the command center cause it looks pretty old!

Flyingdutchman wrote:About the K refit: will they upgrade the inside? Like the bridge and the command center cause it looks pretty old!

Of course.
The information display systems would be totally gutted.

TR1 wrote:

Flyingdutchman wrote:About the K refit: will they upgrade the inside? Like the bridge and the command center cause it looks pretty old!

Of course.
The information display systems would be totally gutted.

Awesome! Do you have a picture of a modern russian navy information display system?

Flyingdutchman wrote:

TR1 wrote:

Flyingdutchman wrote:About the K refit: will they upgrade the inside? Like the bridge and the command center cause it looks pretty old!

Of course.
The information display systems would be totally gutted.

Awesome! Do you have a picture of a modern russian navy information display system?

Uh best ones right now would be the 20380 videos....the larger ships have not been filmed yet inside (22350) and a carrier would obviously have much larger facilities compared to the smaller guys.

But you can get a vague idea:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVgMgUk2V70

TR1 wrote:

Flyingdutchman wrote:

TR1 wrote:

Flyingdutchman wrote:About the K refit: will they upgrade the inside? Like the bridge and the command center cause it looks pretty old!

Of course.
The information display systems would be totally gutted.

Awesome! Do you have a picture of a modern russian navy information display system?

Uh best ones right now would be the 20380 videos....the larger ships have not been filmed yet inside (22350) and a carrier would obviously have much larger facilities compared to the smaller guys.

But you can get a vague idea:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVgMgUk2V70

Wow very modern!! Awesome if the K gets displays like this!!

Some other vids i found:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QA_hMnClVfs


http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jYdmk20cAlY


http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jYdmk20cAlY

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UK-BRITAIN-RUSSIA-CARRIER:UK deploys a destroyer to track Russian aircraft carrier Reuters The Russian Aircraft Carrier Admiral Kuznetsov underway in the Mediterranean Sea in this U.S. Navy handout photo dated January 7, 1996 file phto. REUTERS/U.S. Navy/Handout
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Thursday it had deployed a destroyer to track a Russian aircraft carrier sailing close to its coastal waters, the latest in a series of such incidents and a reminder of underlying tensions between London and Moscow.

A spokesman from Britain's Ministry of Defence said HMS Dragon had been "activated" on Wednesday in response to the approach of a Russian task force including the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia's only aircraft carrier.

"It was activated yesterday to meet the Admiral Kuznetsov task force," the spokesman told Reuters.

The Admiral Kuznetsov is capable of carrying up to 26 fixed-wing fighters and 24 helicopters. A Russian naval spokesman said last month the vessel had completed a deployment as part of Moscow's naval force in the Mediterranean and was on its way back to its base of Severomorsk in north-west Russia.

HMS Dragon, a modern air-defence destroyer, was deployed in similar circumstances just last month to shadow another Russian warship, the Vice-Admiral Kulakov, as it sailed past Britain.

Britain last month also scrambled Typhoon fighter jets to see off Russian military planes flying close to its airspace off the coast of Scotland.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has said that recent events in Ukraine have increased awareness of Russian military activity, but that Britain's military has long routinely intercepted, identified and escorted Russian planes and warships travelling through "areas of interest".

https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/23341745/uk-says-deploys-a-destroyer-to-track-russian-aircraft-carrier/

How's the Kuznetsov's Granit i wonder ? Did those missiles got removed ?

They will likely remove them during their major overhaul if they haven't removed them already.

AFAIK Granit is no longer in production, but they should have plenty of war stocks.

It is a game/simulation but you can see the Kuznetsov's defences doing their work it seems, very effective too me!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPfgEErGrtw

Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency reported the "Admiral Kuznetsov" will undergo repair and modernization during the next three to four years.


I readed this in the following link:

http://www.rferl.mobi/a/25471942.html